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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Pat Oakley (volunteer) and has been added to the website on behalf of Jenny Oliver (nee Brooks) with her permission and she fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Title ; A tale of parachutes, stockings and a donkey.

Your name and full names of others in the story ; Jenny Oliver's mother, Dianah, Maggie, and Gwendolyne Brooks,sisters, George and Emma Brooks, parents.

Location ; Baldock, Herts. Hitchin, Herts

My mother was born in 1919 so she was twenty at the beginning of the war. She worked as a machinist at the Kayser- Bondor factory in Baldock, Herts, with her three sisters. All of them made nylon parachutes. My mother’s wedding dress was made from a white nylon parachute which found its way into her cycle basket!

One day, cycling to ,Baldock from Hitchin, where the sisters lived with their parents (George and Emma),the siren went off. My mum continued to cycle, but she was shouted at by a warden who told her to get off her bike and get into the ditch. She stopped, put her bike down, and then took off her stockings before sliding into the ditch. Her sisters were mortified that she had taken her stockings off in front of the warden and they told her so! Being the youngest of six children she was completely spoilt and so she was quickly forgiven, but the story quickly got round the factory.

My parents were married on the shortest day of the year and my father always said,’ shortest day – longest night!’ This was in 1941 and he only had a three day pass.

My dad, Robert James Brooks,(Bobbie), was a Royal Marine and for some time he was stationed in Tobruk, North Africa. This was the only time he fired his gun during the war. Being on night duty he heard something or someone moving towards him. He shouted out for them to stop and asked them to identify themselves as friend or foe. Not wanting to use his gun he challenged twice more but got no response. The enemy was getting closer. In his panic he fired and heard something fall. The whole camp was woken by the shot and several mates joined him. In the darkness they discovered he had shot, but unfortunately not killed, a donkey. He could not finish the deed himself, so a friend took over .At least they had meat the next day and although my dad tried to eat it he still felt very guilty.

Jenny Oliver(nee Brooks)

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